Europe

10 things you didn't know about Conflict Zone

Fun facts about DW’s top political interview with Tim Sebastian and Michel Friedman you probably didn't know...

1. #dwZone in 20+ countries

Out of more than 30 interviews on Conflict Zone since the launch in September 2015, we have interviewed officials from more than 20 different countries on four continents.

2. The team

We are based in Berlin with members from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Israel, the US and Australia. There's a ton happening behind the scenes, with endless hours of research behind each show and intense discussions. One thing is for certain, the Conflict Zone team is passionate about politics and policy. In here, it may as well be called the "wonk zone."

3. Tim Sebastian

Tim Sebastian has been the host of Conflict Zone since the show launched in September 2015. He is a world-renowned television journalist from the UK with more than 40 years of experience. Political interviewing is an exercise in accountability,” he says. “Cutting through the spin and confronting politicians about the growing gap between rhetoric and reality.”

4. Michel Friedman

Michel Friedman joined Conflict Zone as a host in April 2016. Friedman is a German lawyer, university lecturer and journalist with over 25 years of experience. He was born into a Polish-Jewish family in Paris in 1956. After working as a lawyer, Friedman's career in TV began with a talk show called "Caution! Friedman." In 2001, he received the German Television Prize for his "Friedman" show.

5. Our top three viral videos

Our three most successful shows in terms of views and shares were Tim Sebastian posing tough questions to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and leader of Germany's populist AfD party, Frauke Petry.

6. Posing tough questions to presidents

Heads of state aren't always used to being confronted but that doesn't mean Conflict Zone holds back. When Afghan President Ashraf Ghani came on the show at the end of 2015, Tim Sebastian wouldn't allow him to claim that women's rights are a priority without looking at a photo of a woman being given 100 lashes for having had sex outside of marriage. "This is part of our shame," Ghani said.

7. Grilling prime ministers

The Iraqi Prime Minister may have seen some of the political strife coming his way when he backed down on promises to battle corruption in 2016, saying he had only been referring to fight corruption with the Ministry of the Interior.

8. 10 foreign ministers were on the show so far

Confict Zone has interviewed two successive foreign ministers from Poland, former minister Radoslaw Sikorski and current minister Witold Waszczykowski. We also interviewed the foreign ministers from Ukraine, Rwanda, Lebanon, Qatar, Egypt, Hungary, Macedonia and Slovakia.

9. Inside the refugee crisis

Conflict Zone takes the most important topics in the world to the people actually making the decisions. Interviewed in September 2015, Hungary's foreign minister responded to the images flooding television screens of his police tear-gassing refugees as the border was closed and called the quota system for distributing refugees among EU countries "nonsense."

10. Grilling German politicians from all over the political spectrum

Tim Sebastian has interviewed German politicians from all over the political spectrum. He posed tough questions to Angela Merkel's Chief of Staff, Peter Altmaier (CDU), he grilled Frauke Petry, the head of Germany's populist AfD party, he faced off with Cem Özdemir, co-leader of the Greens as well as Jan van Aken from the Left Party. But all guests on Conflict Zone get the same grilling.

1. #dwZone in 20+ countries

Out of more than 30 interviews on Conflict Zone since the launch in September 2015, we have interviewed officials from more than 20 different countries on four continents.

2. The team

We are based in Berlin with members from the UK, Ireland, Germany, Israel, the US and Australia. There's a ton happening behind the scenes, with endless hours of research behind each show and intense discussions. One thing is for certain, the Conflict Zone team is passionate about politics and policy. In here, it may as well be called the "wonk zone."

3. Tim Sebastian

Tim Sebastian has been the host of Conflict Zone since the show launched in September 2015. He is a world-renowned television journalist from the UK with more than 40 years of experience. Political interviewing is an exercise in accountability,” he says. “Cutting through the spin and confronting politicians about the growing gap between rhetoric and reality.”

4. Michel Friedman

Michel Friedman joined Conflict Zone as a host in April 2016. Friedman is a German lawyer, university lecturer and journalist with over 25 years of experience. He was born into a Polish-Jewish family in Paris in 1956. After working as a lawyer, Friedman's career in TV began with a talk show called "Caution! Friedman." In 2001, he received the German Television Prize for his "Friedman" show.

5. Our top three viral videos

Our three most successful shows in terms of views and shares were Tim Sebastian posing tough questions to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and leader of Germany's populist AfD party, Frauke Petry.

6. Posing tough questions to presidents

Heads of state aren't always used to being confronted but that doesn't mean Conflict Zone holds back. When Afghan President Ashraf Ghani came on the show at the end of 2015, Tim Sebastian wouldn't allow him to claim that women's rights are a priority without looking at a photo of a woman being given 100 lashes for having had sex outside of marriage. "This is part of our shame," Ghani said.

7. Grilling prime ministers

The Iraqi Prime Minister may have seen some of the political strife coming his way when he backed down on promises to battle corruption in 2016, saying he had only been referring to fight corruption with the Ministry of the Interior.

8. 10 foreign ministers were on the show so far

Confict Zone has interviewed two successive foreign ministers from Poland, former minister Radoslaw Sikorski and current minister Witold Waszczykowski. We also interviewed the foreign ministers from Ukraine, Rwanda, Lebanon, Qatar, Egypt, Hungary, Macedonia and Slovakia.

9. Inside the refugee crisis

Conflict Zone takes the most important topics in the world to the people actually making the decisions. Interviewed in September 2015, Hungary's foreign minister responded to the images flooding television screens of his police tear-gassing refugees as the border was closed and called the quota system for distributing refugees among EU countries "nonsense."

10. Grilling German politicians from all over the political spectrum

Tim Sebastian has interviewed German politicians from all over the political spectrum. He posed tough questions to Angela Merkel's Chief of Staff, Peter Altmaier (CDU), he grilled Frauke Petry, the head of Germany's populist AfD party, he faced off with Cem Özdemir, co-leader of the Greens as well as Jan van Aken from the Left Party. But all guests on Conflict Zone get the same grilling.